THE number of rapes reported to police in Northern Ireland has increased by almost a fifth.
Statistics provided by the PSNI show that 968 rape crimes and 2,448 other sexual offences were recorded in the 12 months ending in February this year.
That compared to 822 rapes and 2,331 other sexual offences reported during the previous year.
However, the figures show that only 5.3 per cent of reported rapes were disposed of by a charge or summons.
That was down from 8.6 per cent the previous year.
In response to a query from The Detail website, Detective Superintendent Deirdre Bones, from the PSNI's Public Protection Branch, said there were a number of reasons for the low rate of charge or criminal justice progression in rape cases.
"For example, in just under half of reports, the injured party has personally decided that they do not wish to progress an investigation through the criminal justice system," she said.
"In some cases, the Public Prosecution Service has directed ‘no prosecution’ as the investigation did not pass the evidential test.
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland is currently undertaking research with victims to ascertain the reasons why injured parties withdraw from an investigation in order to understand what can be done to encourage them to progress an investigation through the criminal justice system."
The figures were released the day after the not guilty verdicts in the trial of Ulster Rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, who had been accused of raping a woman at a house party in 2016.
They equate to an average of 80 rapes and more than 200 other sexual offences being reported each month.
Nexus NI, which offers services to people affected by sexual violence, received more than 250 referrals for specialist counselling services in January of this year alone.
